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A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

Sydney Morning Herald

2007

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall

A tradition of land-diving, 'nagol', has existed for centuries on this South Pacific island. Men and boys build tall timber towers and leap off them headfirst from different levels, sometimes as high as ten meters. They are prevented from falling to their deaths by vines tied to their ankles. The vines tauten and stop the descent just centimeters before the diver hits the earth. Divers choose their own vines in high hillside forests. Nagol takes place between March and June when the vines are at their strongest and most elastic. Nagol has become a popular tourist attraction with visitors paying considerable sums to tour companies for an opportunity to watch the spectacle. It was also the inspiration for bungee jumping which has become a lucrative sport in the West. Recently, there have been calls for more transparency about where the tourists' money goes and talk of an intellectual property rights claim on the bungee jumping industry.

About the photographer

Tim Clayton

Tim Clayton worked for The Sydney Morning Herald for 18 years before become a freelancer in 2008.

Tim Clayton worked for The Sydney Morning Herald for 18 years before become a freelancer in 2008.

He has covered eight Olympic Games, five Rugby World Cups, and the FIFA World Cup. He recently relocated to the New York area and is represented by Corbis.

Tim has received eight World Press Photo awards, including three first place prizes in 1994, 2004 and 2007. The Observer Sports Magazine (2003) included four of Tim's pictures in its selection of the 50 best sports images of all time.

Tim is an advocate of strict ethics in photojournalism, and is a proponent for developing photo essays in sports photography to help put it on par with other areas of photojournalism.